The Eternal Link
by Lanima
Summary: As Naruto rediscovers his past, sinister figures scar the horizon. His team once again must find each other but will it be the same as before? [NaruXsakU] Chapter 1 up. Read and Review please.
1. Prologue Chapter : A Silent Goodbye

Prologue chapter : A Silent Goodbye

"Naruto…"

The sky was clear the setting sun lighting the scene, Sakura stood at the entrance of Konoha village, her shoulders shock slightly and her voice was cracked when she pronounced the last syllable,

"Sakura-chan… I… why did you come?"

He had his back to Sakura and his voice had an air of indifference, his shoulders were tense and stiff as were his legs also there seemed to be something forced in the way he spoke,

"Naruto you - you – _baka!_"

Her face was creased with pain and her eyelids tightened to try and hold back tears, her eyes glistened with moisture that slowly made it's way down her face reaching her chin. It hovered there for a moment before falling to the ground an emotion crystallised,

"Sakura-chan… how did you… hah… _Gomen na sai_."

Naruto had turned around when he heard Sakura sniff and as he expected she was crying, one of the few things in this world Naruto couldn't handle. Naruto stuttered when he spoke and he turned round and faced her fully, his face was forlorn and his eyes had lost their azure glow. He lifted his hand as if to comfort her but allowed it to fall to his side,

"Naruto you didn't plan - hic - on telling me, did you expect me not to find out?"

Naruto's head dropped and a frown appeared on his face, he took a step closer to her and felt her short, choked breathing upon his chest, a wave of regret flowed through his body and a flood of memories filled his mind, he looked down at Sakura's face her sorrowful eyes and shattered disposition and wondered whether what he was doing was right,

"Sakura-chan, if I had another chance then perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way but, as things are this can't work."

Sakura seemed overwhelmed by the speed at which events had gone and was struggling to sort her feelings out but there was one feeling which was clear and that was that she didn't want Naruto to leave, she stumbled forward into Naruto and wept into his shirt, gripping it with both hands. She looked up at him his face had a sombre smile that calmed her despite knowing what it truly meant,

"So that's it you give up! There's no way of fixing this! What happened to your way of the ninja! _What happened to never going back on your word! What about that Naruto!?_"

Naruto did not keel back from her attack, he knew too well he deserved it but no amount of training could have prepared him for this moment, a pain in his chest had been building from when he heard her begin to speak and he could not help but let the emotions he had been holding back show on his face, his eyebrows lowered and his eyes became hollow, she was telling the truth and he had once again broken a promise to her. Perhaps this feeling was still there from the first time he broke a promise - the promise of a lifetime he made for her and it was now surfacing in the light of him doing it once again,

"Sakura-chan -"

"I told you to call me Sakura!"

"Sakura-chan, all hope in Konoha lies in me if I don't do this then it's the end for everyone, even you and me. No matter how much my heart, my soul or even you tell me to come back my mind knows I can't."

Sakura sobbed into his chest again before she felt his hand on her chin, his touch ran though her body like a current of electricity freezing all her movements even her tears and demanding the attention of all her senses, she could feel the softness of his fingers on her chin and could smell his unique sent which was now so melancholic, his breathing was light on her forehead and she could hear that it was clear with no hesitation.

When he lifted her chin she saw he had a smile on his face that this time was genuine,

"Naruto…"

Naruto could feel all the emotions he had tried to seal away as he left slowly breaking loose and with them his old worries and insecurities came but then he felt he could end everything, the relationship, the problems and this encounter if he could kiss her just this once,

"Just this once forgive me…"

Naruto leant forwards whilst slowly lifting Sakura's chin, Sakura closed her eyes and felt his lips slowly press upon hers, Sakura felt the feelings of joy and relief melt through her heart and throughout her body, _He's staying, he's not gonna leave me alone_. Naruto lifted his lips and moved them towards her ear,

"Sakura always remember that I love you and will forever."

"What do you mea -"

There was a sudden rush of wind which forced Sakura to keep her eyes closed and she felt the weight of Naruto disappear from in front of her, when the wind subsided she feared opening her eyes the image of Naruto in front of her still there, she forced her eyes open and saw that there was no-one there.

She fell to her knees and stared into the distance the sun at it's final phase slowly set before her, leaving her in darkness she knelt there sobbing for an unknown time before a fellow medical ninja came past and discovered her there, Sakura allowed the woman to carry her away but she didn't here a word she spoke, all that was in her mind was the realisation that Naruto left and she was once again, alone.

* * *

Authors Note: Wow finished the prologue next chapter up soon hopefully, please read and review I haven't written in a while, NaruSaku in an even longer while suggestions and opinions appreciated no flames though please.

Tru Nakama


	2. Chapter 1: Eve of Advent

Chapter One: Eve of the Advent

Chapter Summary: As Naruto rediscovers his past sinister figures scar the horizon. His team once again must find each other but will it be the same as before?

The sky over Konoha was a deep blue, it's sapphire glow was scarred by the waxing crescent moon which emanated a teal haze into the streets.

Not far from the centre of the village the Hokage's tower lay, the Sandaime Hokage was observing his window with a grave expression. He didn't seem to be focusing on the outside more mulling over the thoughts in his head. He lifted his hand which held a report, the title read 'Unexplained phenomenon' and the report itself was rather lengthy.

He walked back to his desk and placed the report down, taking a deep puff from his pipe as he did. There was then a knock from the door, he sighed before speaking,

"_Raikou[1_."

Five ANBU walked into the room, they all had identical ANBU clothing but their masks were different. They bore the same design, a design that resembled the burning of viscous flames but they were in different colours. The furthest left had a pale blue colour, just left of the centre a light orange, the centre jet black. Just right of him had a dark blue colour and the last to the right a light green. As they entered the centre ninja stepped in front of the others,

"Hokage-sama we have the report."

"Did you manage to retrieve them?"

"We… didn't."

"What was their condition when you arrived?"

"They were in a unique condition."

He lifted his hand gesturing towards the ninja on the far left with the pale blue mask,

"Liu gave _Deruta[2_ a thorough inspection, he appeared unconscious at first but he did not respond despite healing his wounds. About 12 minutes after we found him he went into a fit and died from a cardiac arrest. He should be reported as _senbotsu[3_."

"And what are your views on the event?"

The leader of the squad lifted his palm at his side and momentarily glanced at it through his mask, his hazel eyes had a morose shine,

"I think that whoever was involved with the attack was observing us either when we arrived or soon after and arranged for the cardiac arrest."

"Both of those are possible, but then what does the state _Deruta _was in have to do with this?"

"That is still an unknown but it must have something to do with how he died."

"Well then…"

He looked at each of them looking from left to right at each person as he named them,

"Liu, Suyin, Lei, Huojin and GuangLi you are all officially off duty – for now. I will discuss this business further later but for now I need to work out what to do. You are dismissed and do not forget that in three days -"

"_Daijoubu[4_, we know what the next few days are." Lei cut across,

"Well then _oyasumi[5_."

"_Hai[6_, _Oyasumi nasai[5_ Hokage-sama."

The five ninja then bowed before disappearing in silence leaving a small haze of smoke in their midst. The Hokage sat in his seat looking at the report he had been browsing earlier and wondered what all these happenings meant.

* * *

The moon was still clear over Konoha when a certain blonde haired ninja suddenly shot up from his bed frozen stiff, he sat there for a moment breathing heavily before his eyes became blurry as a tide of tears erupted from his eyes. He stared at the wall of his apartment barely able to make out his _ecchi[7 _calendar and various hangings with inspirational sayings such as, 'Do your best' and 'Guts'. He sat there for a few more seconds before lifting a shaky arm to his eyes and wiping them, stemming the flow.

He stood from his bed his twelve year old body not as limber as his older one but still familiar, he pulled his sleeping cap off of his head and went to the window. He leapt onto the roof of the floor below and negotiated the side wall to reach the roof. He scanned the village to try and identify just how far back he was, he couldn't see the change in buildings from after the joint Suna and Oto attack so he assumed it was before the second chuunin exam so he wondered if he had even graduated yet. Graduation, _That's right my _hitai-ate[8.

He leapt off the roof and swung of a pole to enter through his open window, happy to be able to use his monkey like manoeuvres again he went to his bedside table to find a pair of murky green goggles,

"So how far back am I?"

He looked around the room for a sign of the date and noticed his calendar on the wall once again, dashing over he saw that it was the month of his graduation exam, _It hasn't got Kakashi's training date on here so I haven't graduated yet! _He did a little victory dance at having manipulated the technique so well, _I'll have to thank the Sandaime for his excellent research… actually could I save him from dying this time? But if I'm there then… then Sasuke and Sakura… they could die._

He went to his bed and sat down closing his eyes and opening his hands on his knees, _I'll have to think about this._ In his timeline Naruto had developed a way of focusing his chakra control, he would form a _**Fuuton Rasengan[1 **_with the assistance of a _**Kage Bunshin[2 **_. He would then maintain it for 30 seconds before releasing it in a controlled way, he would repeat the same exercise on his other hand to improve his control. He produced a _**Kage Bunshin**_ and put out his left hand focusing chakra, he was surprised to find his chakra capacity was a great degree smaller than before hardly able to produce any chakra to spin he gave up on it for now, _The mind remembers but the body doesn't… how expectedl_.

He decided to not overwork his mind today with complex theories on changing the future and to instead blag his way through tomorrow starting with the academy. He put his sleeping cap back on and lifted his quilt, _I should probably clean up as well, can't become Hokage with a messy room_. He went into his bed and collapsed into his sheets dreaming of murky shadows and innocent hearts.

* * *

The five ANBU had arrived at the far end of the Konoha High Street and stopped there looking around at the empty area,

"This place should be fine…"

All five of them removed their masks as they did their masks seemed to burn their respective colours before scattering like ash to the winds, Huojin's pale grey eyes watched the colourful ash dance in the dark night,

"I get a nostalgic feeling every time I take off my mask…"

Liu stepped forward placing her hand underneath one of the falling pieces of ash,

"I know what you mean, kinda like we've worn them before…"

Lei closed his eyes and sighed before releasing one of the clips on his forearm guard,

"I'm heading home…"

Suyin walked in front of him in poked him in his forehead,

"Where are you going? We just got off duty and it's still early, lets do something together!"

"Still early! It's probably past 12 and we're only 12! Hardly the time to be out, besides we have to complete that report."

"_BakaBaka[9_! Work! Work! Work! That's all you think about! You just said we're 12 so we shouldn't be working! We should be with our friends having fun! Right Liu!"

"_Haaaaaaaaaaai_!"

Huojin let out a chuckle at the girls spirit, walking towards Lei he placed his arm around his shoulder,

"Lei-kun you know she's right chillax with us for a bit, it'll be fun promise."

GuangLi stood in between the two girls placing his hands over their shoulders,

"Well if you don't wanna go Lei that's OK."

He turned walking with the two girls towards the eastern exit of the High Street,

"Hey wait a sec! Let me think about this!"

Huojin jumped onto the end of the chain besides Liu,

"Well then we'll be off! Even numbers have more fun anyways!"

"Hey I didn't say I wasn't going!"

The four of them laughed as they walked off into the distance, Lei watched them for a moment before deciding to chase after them.

* * *

The following morning was a bright azure, there were thin wisps of cloud in the sky but it was generally clear, the morning sun shone low in the sky.

In the apartment of a certain academy ninja a young boy was awakening, he opened his eyes that had gummed together in his sleep and scanned the room. Getting out of his bed he pulled off his sleeping hat to reveal a set of golden locks thick with frizz, he shook his head loosening his bed hair and stalked into the bathroom.

Moments later he was fully awake in his underwear observing his closet, _Damn I really need to get more clothes… Orange jumpsuits what was I thinking_. After a good few minutes he managed to compile a new outfit, it consisted of a pair of black bottoms which where bandaged at the bottom to connect to his black ninja sandals. He had a black shirt over his string vest which had a spiral in the centre and his usual orange top which was worn open.

He put his ninja pack on the back of his leg, adjusted his goggles on his forehead and made his way towards the door. He locked it, walked down the stairs and made his way towards the academy.

Halfway though his journey he saw a group of people crowded outside a shop, he decided as he was early he would take a look. The shop turned out to be a ninja outfitters, as he got closer he noticed the window was smashed. There were a group of adults consulting but he couldn't make out what they were saying, he decided instead to ask the shop owner,

"Uuh, _Ojiisan[10_ what happened to your shop?"

The shop owner gave me a menacing look before answering,

"It's nothing a _gaki[11_ like you should be worrying about."

He lowered my eyebrows into a frown rivalling the shop owners look before turning to another kid that was standing nearby,

"_Sumimasen[12_, do you know what happened here?"

The kid looked at me for a moment before smiling,

"My _Okaasan[13_ said that someone took something in the night without paying for it."

Naruto decided if he had heard his parents talking then his account must be genuine,

"Did they! Do you know what they took?"

"I think it was a sword!"

"A sword _sugoi[14_! _Arigatou[15_ that's really interesting."

He gave the kid a foxy grin before ducking out of the crowd and back onto the road that led to the Academy, it wasn't long before he noticed someone from his class on the road. It just so happened to be his fellow team mate Haruno Sakura, he decided to approach her.

He ruffled his hair as he quickened his pace to walk at an equal pace with her,

"_Ohayou[16 _Sakura-chan."

His voice had a ring of nervousness, perhaps it was his guilt at leaving the Sakura in his timeline behind or it could have been because when he was younger the majority of their meetings ended with him in pain but he found himself unable to stop the slight shaking in his voice.

Sakura's sleepy brow lowered into a frown as she noticed that Naruto was speaking to her, she looked forward as she answered,

"_Ohayou_, Naruto."

"Umm, how come you're w – walking this way to school."

Once again Naruto was unable to master his nervousness,

"I live on this road _baka_!"

Naruto tried to keep the conversation flowing but her negative answer lowered his confidence, _Perhaps it's because I'm in my younger body… _ He was saved (or so he thought) when Ino appeared from one of the side roads, she stopped when she saw the two and a cruel smirk crept up her face. She replaced it with a bitterly sweet smile as she joined the two,

"_Ohayou_ Sakura, Naruto-kun."

"_Ohayou_."

"_Ohayou_…"

Naruto's suspicion was aroused, _Ino never called me Naruto-kun… I think_. He decided to observe what sinister idea was behind her smile,

"So Sakura, you and Naruto walk to school together?"

Sakura clearly flustered allowed red to seep into her cheeks,

"_B_ – _Baka_! He just happened to be walking near me! It's a coincidence!"

"_Hai_, _hai _ I've seen how you two are in class so there's no need to hide it from me, the relationship that is."

"R – Relationship! There's no such thing!"

She turned and grabbed Naruto by his shirt pulling him on front of Ino,

"Oi Naruto! Tell her there's nothing going on!"

"I – what?"

Ino took advantage of Naruto's surprise,

"Oooooh! So there is something going on! Hahaha! Wait till Sasuke-kun finds out!"

She then sped up her pace half running to the Academy, Sakura threw Naruto into the ground running after her,

"Oi! _Matte[17 _Ino-pig!"

Naruto looked up to see her turn back at him, he noticed that despite the fact she appeared to hate Ino there was a shine in her eyes that resembled some child like joy, a smile began to break across his face until Sakura spoke,

"Thanks a lot _Naruto no Baka_!"

His face dropped and his head followed staring into the ground he thought, _I blew it didn't I…  
_

* * *

Huojin was sitting in his classroom waiting for the class to begin, his eyes were half shut and he felt as if he was about to sleep, he regretted once again staying out so late on a school night. It seemed that his young body couldn't keep up with the lifestyle of an adult, he wondered if the pills he took this morning were working, the low rumble of voices entering his ears suddenly exploded causing an extreme amount of pain to him he collapsed into his desk turning to the girl next to him with a dark look, Liu gave him a sincere smile only increased his annoyance, GuangLi on her right was smirking happily. Huojin then turned his attention to the noisy girls that had entered the classroom.

* * *

Naruto arrived at the door of the classroom and wasn't surprised to find that Sakura and Ino were still fighting, despite it being annoying and spiteful at this stage their fiery personalities where what made both of them unique, _Perhaps that's why Kurenai favoured Ino, she had the fire she didn't_. He scanned the rest of the classroom and was surprised to see a head of platinum blonde hair, examining further he saw it belonged to a beautiful girl who had light hazel eyes and a warm face, she wore a _Qipao[1_ that was a pale blue and covered with golden butterflies.

He stared for a moment entranced by her beauty before she laughed, Naruto's jaw dropped, _Sugoi! Kawaiiiiiiiii![18 _He noticed that she was looking at the boy next to her so he looked at him to see another person he didn't recognise. This person was slouched on his desk and looked half asleep, he had short, wavey, blazing read hair that reached his shoulders, he had pale grey eyes that sparkled strangely and wore a full length ninja suit that was dark blue, over it he wore a sleeveless _Shenyi[2_ that was pure white except for the collar which was a murky grey.

Naruto then realised that the boy was looking in his direction, he thought he'd try a smile but the boy merely frowned at him. Naruto unfazed walked into the classroom, he tried to look at the third person on the other side of the girl but he was blocked from view. Losing interest he searched for a free seat, seeing one besides Sakura he decided to avoid it opting instead for a seat besides the lazy genius,

"Yo! Shikamaru!" Naruto half shouted at Shikamaru,

"Jeez do you have to be noisy all the time?"

"Ah _Gomen[19_,anyways what days the exam?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow (just barely) at Naruto before replying,

"I thought you'd be the last person to forget the date of the exam, you've been raving about it for the last month."

"Have I? – I mean have I, I - I - never noticed."

"Confessions of an idiot, it's the day after tomorrow."

"_Arigatou_ Shikmaru!"

"Volume – again."

"_Gomen na sai, Gomen na sai!_"

"Tch! Doesn't matter, _sensei's _here anyways."

Naruto turned to the door and saw that Iruka had indeed entered the room, he couldn't help but break into a smile when he saw him, it had been a while since he had, thankfully this time he wasn't in a pool of his own blood, _That's another person I gotta save!_ Iruka came to the front and scanned over the class, his eyes slowed when he reached the three new students but he didn't say anything.

He went to his desk and lifted a piece of paper, he began role call (Naruto made sure to give an exaggerated response getting himself another scolding from Shikamaru). Iruka stopped when he had called most of the names before calling out,

"Liu!"

The platinum blonde haired girl answered,

"Here!"

Naruto who had been waiting for any of them to answer smiled as he now knew the pretty girl's name. Iruka then called out another name,

"GuangLi!"

The unseen boy answered,

"Here!"

"Huojin!"

The copper haired boy answered,

"Here!"

Naruto kept their names and faces in the back of his mind, _Maybe I'll stalk – uh – follow them after class, I don't recall them in my timeline - or maybe I never paid attention… Crap that reminds me I gotta graffiti the Hokage's faces tomorrow morning, or else I won't get my invitation from Iruka-sensei. Well what has to be done has to be done. _He smirked to himself thinking of what devious ways he could perform said deed but his flow of thought was cut off by a shout from his sensei,

"Oi Naruto!"

"Eh!"

"Where you listening! What did I say?"

Naruto thought for a moment before coming to a conclusion,

"How much you'd love to ask someone else that question?"

There was a low rumble of laughter from the class, Iruka's brow lowered,

"I was talking about the exam and as you're so eager to answer how about demonstrating some of the Techniques you'll need to perform?"

Naruto not one (at twelve) to back down from a challenge leapt directly from his seat flipping forwards to land beside Iruka. He turned back around to the class his face still grinning from ear to ear,

"So which one first Iruka –sensei?"

"_**Henge no jutsu[3**_ into…"

He looked around the class finishing on Hinata,

"Hinata."

Naruto looked at Hinata whose face exploded with bright red blush, her gaze averted from Naruto to one of the windows on the right wall of the room. Naruto couldn't help but laugh inwardly at Hinata's behaviour,

"_Haaaaaai__sensei!"_

Naruto smirked and wondered whether he should do the jutsu perfectly as it may raise suspicion about his skills but as he had never had much trouble with _**Henge **_he decided he would,

"_**Henge no jutsu!**_"

There was a burst of smoke and in place of Naruto was a blushing Hinata, Naruto had at the last moment thought of mixing it with _**Oiroke no jutsu[4**_ but that would have resulted in a beating from his sensei. Iruka walked around him observing before stopping and looking at Hinata (Who blushed again) before announcing that Naruto had executed the technique correctly. Naruto grinned (Which looked strange on Hinata's face) before changing back and walking to his seat.

As he walked he passed by Huojin who was now sitting up in his seat and watching Naruto as he passed. Naruto looked at him raising an eyebrow, noticing a slight rise in killing intent. Lowering his brow he returned it, Huojin smirked leaning back in his chair, looking at the front leaving Naruto to walk by. Naruto also smirked lowering his killing intent and walking back to his seat.

* * *

After class ended Naruto waited for Huojin and the others to leave pretending to be adjusting his jacket, as they were taking their time having a discussion of some sorts he took off his jacket and put it underneath the desk. He focused a thin blade of wind into his hand and used it to slice off the sleeves of his jacket. After putting it back on he decided he'd buy some new clothes after he followed his three classmates.

When he looked up he realised they had left, leaping from his seat and shouting a hasty goodbye to Iruka and ran out of the classroom. Making his way to the exit of the academy he spotted them just inside the doors and slowed his walking, he adjusted his goggles as he came closer. They seemed to be having a serious talk and went quiet when they noticed him but not before Naruto caught a few words,

"- Did you have to, you could've just put it back!"

"Don't worry, I'll return it after I check something."

"You always say tha – "

"Shhh! someones coming!"

Naruto pretended to be oblivious to their conversation and was happily humming to himself. When he passed he heard one of the whisper something, as he made his way towards the town he felt a sharp spike of killing intent from behind him. Turning round he caught a kunai inches from his face, he looked at where the three had been standing and saw nothing. He then realised there was a note on the kunai,

"_If you want to find us we'll be waiting at the lands end_… Lands end… Lands end… The sea. There isn't any sea near here could they mean."

He thought for a moment before walking towards the forest,

"One place comes to mind what an ironic place too…"

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was standing at the centre of the small lake that lay at the outskirts of the Uchiha estate. He had his eyes closed and was holding three kunai in either hand between his fingers. He breathed slowly in taking in the scents around him, he then listened to the sound of the still water and the wildlife around him.

Lowering his arms to his side he threw his first hand of kunai under the water, swiftly releasing the others in a parallel direction.

He then bent his knees and places his flat hands over the water rocketing up as a series of explosions erupted underfoot. He then twisted his waist giving him a counter clockwise spin to avoid a kunai that skimmed past his face and landed back on the small platform.

His eyes were closed as he stood up the smoke under the water causing a fast flow of bubbles. There were a number of sounds that he detected in the water but the strongest was the sound of rhythmic stepping and flow of chakra.

He opened his eyes to find three people standing around him, Sasuke immediately recognised them as the three guests in their class,

"Uchiha Sasuke-kun…"

Sasuke turned to the person who had spoken, Liu gave him a searching look before continuing,

"Number one rookie out of this year's genin… how quaint."

Sasuke smirked shaking his dripping hair so it returned to it's usual shape,

"What do you want?"

Liu gave him a smile,

"Nothing, just checking out the best in the class."

Sasuke looked at the other two taking in their builds and faces before facing towards the wharf,

"Whatever…"

Sasuke places his feet at the very edge of platform launching himself off towards the main wharf, GuangLi watched him leave before sighing,

"What's stuck up his ass."

Liu laughed whilst Huojin remained indifferent,

"I dunno, he seemed kinda cute."

Huojin raised an eyebrow at his comrade,

"What!? He is."

Huojin frowned muttering,

"Whatever our _acquaintance _isn't here yet anyway."

Liu equalled his glance,

"Why did you invite him?"

"He intrigued me unlike that Uchiha."

"What intrigued you?"

"There was a mysterious air around him."

"Of idiocy? Did you see how obnoxious he was acting, showing off a perfect _**henge**_ like it's anything advanced."

"Jealous _ne[20_."

"_Baaaaka!_ Like I'd be jealous of some big headed kid that wears orange jumpsuits."

"Well it's nice to know what you think of me and to know you lot aren't as innocent as you look…"

Naruto was walking over the water towards the trio a smile upon his face,

"…But what's wrong with orange, I like orange?"

Huojin smiled and turned to face him, his Shenyi shook slightly in the wind,

"So you came Uzumaki Naruto."

"Where'd you hear my surname?"

"Let's just say it's something I know."

Naruto arrived a few feet away from the three who stood with Huojin in the centre and Liu and GuangLi on his left and right respectively,

"Just something you know…"

Liu observed his appearance,

"What happened to your sleeves?"

"Wouldn't you like to know…"

Naruto lifted a hand his index and middle fingers leading, he smirked tilting his head to the side and twisting his hand so the back faced Huojin.

The trees near the edge of the lake swayed forward slightly before being struck by a powerful gust of wind, a large amount of leaves flew off the trees and into a series of spirals towards Naruto. When they reached him they circled him in a perfect sphere before lifting over him and swirling in a flat circle, Huojin's face showed surprise but he swiftly shifted it to a smirk,

"So your element is wind…"

Naruto didn't say anything but instead moved his hand in a circular motion causing all of the leaves to blasted off in all directions, upon closer inspection they saw that each of the leaves were split directly down the centre in perfect halves,

"You could say that."

Huojin shifted his left foot slightly back across the surface of the water,

"You amaze me Uzumaki Naruto, at your age you have already mastered your chakra enough to walk on water and you can control it's element to such a level."

"I could say the same for you with the water walking trick but I'm far from having much control over my chakras element, that wind move was just a trick I picked up."

"Still the dead last of the class doesn't seem appropriate."

"I actually have other things I want to get done tonight so if you could tell me why you called me here?"

"Why can't we have a chat Uzumaki?"

Naruto sighed and Huojin took that as a sign to continue, he pulled a scroll from inside his pack and placed his hand on it. He molded chakra causing a small puff of smoke to appear around the scroll, when it cleared Huojin was holding a sword in his hand. It was a very well decorated katana that had a ruby encrusted either side of the handle, the guard was simple but plated with gold.

His eyes flashed a light bronze before the sword was engulfed in blue spiking lightning, he placed his left hand other the blades edge and swept upwards causing the lightning to disappear. He looked up at Naruto,

"You know were I got this sword Uzumak?."

Liu Stepped forwards,

"_Huojin!_"

"_Urusai[21!_ Where do you think I got this Uzumaki?"

"I can only wonder, why does it matter."

"Do you know what this sword is?"

"Stolen?"

"You have a sense of humor, that's good."

"I also have a patience limit so stop beating around the bush."

"This sword has many names, one of which is _Han ZhongLi[3_.He is the third form of the _Eight Drunken Immortals_ that excels in physical strength."

"And I care why?"

"Because I am about to test just how much he excels on you now."

Huojin lifted the sword directly in front of him before rotating his wrist and dropping it to his side. As the tip touched the surface It released a ringing sound and rippled the water. Naruto shifted his feet slightly apart and opened his hands at his sides. His eyes followed the end of the blade which seemed the most dangerous.

* * *

Not far from the Academy Haruno Sakura was making her way home, she decided to avoid going directly through Konoha (To avoid Ino's flower shop) and instead walked closer to the edge, she noticed as she walked that she was passing the area that was predominately home to clans. As she looked around she noticed a street that had a sign across it that said 'No Entry'. Her curiosity got the better of her and she found herself standing before it, she looked down the street and it looked similar to the other streets around her no signs of damage or any reason for it to be uninhabited.

She vaulted over the sign and started walking down looking at the houses she noticed that the sign she remembered from the back of Sasuke's top was on a lot of the houses. She quickly realised that this must have been where the Uchiha clan had once resided, _But where did they all go… _

She turned a corner and he hands clasped over her mouth as she saw a dried blood splattered over the wall beside her. Her eyes quickly darted over her surroundings and she quickly realised something terrible must have happened here. Her hand reached forwards and she felt the blood which turned to dust at her touch, _This must have happened years ago… How come I never heard about this!? How come no-one ever heard about this. _She turned back down the next street, she could now see tears in walls, smashed glass and cracks in walls she ran down street after street until she found a house which had a door open. She skidded to a halt just inside the door and gasped a she saw lying on the ground in front of her adjusting his leg bandages Uchiha Sasuke, the Epitath of the Uchiha. He looked up at her his face lazy,

"What do you want?"

* * *

Huojin stepped forward before dashing to his left and making a beeline to Naruto, Naruto disliking being on the defensive skimmed forwards to meet him. As they collided he ducked underneath a swift swipe with the sword, spiralling around to Huojin's back and focusing his chakra into a punch. Huojin blocked it with the flat of the blade and hooked the blunt edge of the blade to the back of Naruto's wrist locking it. He then kicked off of the water and connected a kick onto the side of Naruto's face sending him ricocheting off of the water surface. He controlled himself barely able to keep himself above the water, the force of the kick was stronger than it seemed.

He breathed in deeply before sensing Huojin's killing intent, He looked up sharply and managed to sink under the water fast enough to avoid another slash from the sword. He rocketed back upwards knocking the sword to his left leaving Huojin open, Naruto aimed another chakra infused punch at Huojin's face but found the sword blocked him again, fractions of a second after a current of electricity travelled down his arm shocking him. He removed it spiralling to his right and aiming a kick at Huojins face followed by another punch. He then leapt up flipping forwards crashing down a wind enforced kick. He gritted his teeth as he realised that none of his moves had connected, he then focused wind chakra around his hands and released a flurry of punches and kicks form multiple angles, _What the hell is going on, nothing's connecting!_

"What happened to all that attitude you had earlier Uzumaki."

Naruto kept silent as he backed up preparing for his next move,

"I thought you'd be a challenge!"

Naruto leapt forwards spinning in reverse and preparing another wind powered kick he was surprised to see that Huojin was already advancing with a kick of his own. Their legs clashed and they were even. Naruto grabbed Huojin's leg with his left hand and reeled back his right preparing to punch him, as he went to focus chakra into his hand he realised that his chakra was at it's limit,

"Shit!"

He punched and his fist met the blade once again but as there was no wind chakra to counteract the electricity he felt it's shock,

"Are you at your limit Uzumaki?!"

Huojin released another shock of electricity down his leg forcing Naruto to remove his hand, they both backed up landing facing each other,

"I'll end this now Uzumaki!"

* * *

Sakura looked down at Sasuke and felt her mind go blank, all thought being drawn out of her head. She stared at him for a few seconds more before (He gagged her and performed consensual rape cough you didn't read that) he stood up turning his back on her and walking to the back of the room lighting a few candles,

"You may as well close the door."

Sakura for want of something to do obeyed before sitting down a few steps in from the door and crossing her legs,

"Erm… Sasuke-kun?"

"What are you doing here, the no entry sign is there for a reason."

"I – guess I have no excuse for that."

"I guess you don't."

He finished lighting the last of the candles which brightened the room that was currently lit only by the weak sunlight streaming in through the windows and sat down opposite from Sakura,

"Sasuke-kun I wanted to ask you a question."

"Somehow I feel you'll ask more than one but go ahead."

"What happened here?"

"A massacre."

Sakura was surprised at how calmly (I typo'd this word as 'camply' and considered keeping it that way) Sasuke was able to answer, she waited looking directly into his eyes for him to say anything else but it seemed he would be right in his assumption earlier,

"Can I ask a few more questions?"

"You may."

"When did this happen? Who did this?"

"This happened a few years back, when I first started the academy. A few days after we received our first reports in fact, my dear brother (Sakura noticed his features harden as he mentioned his brother) decided that he would slaughter all those in the clan to test his capacity leaving only me who he believed would surpass him."

She watched Sasuke noticing that his hand were gripping hard to his legs, he quickly stood up and walked to an exit at the back of the room. He stood there for a few moments, Sakura watched him her hand raised to her bottom lip an errie staleness passed through the room and between the room. Sasuke lifted his right hand to his neck before saying quietly,

"Get out…"

He walked through the exit leaving a bewildered Sakura behind.

* * *

Naruto's brain was working overtime trying to work out how to continue fighting without chakra, he was just barely able to stay above the waters surface. Huojin smiled before hanging the sword just above the water. He looked back at the other two who sighed and made their way towards the waters edge, looking back at Naruto he dropped his sword into the water discharging all of the electricity into it. Naruto's eyes widened as he realised that he could no longer move his body, he looked at where Huojin had been standing moments before and found he had vanished, his eyes searched frantically but couldn't find him.

He felt another spike of killing intent from below him and was thrown into the air by a powerful swipe from the sword that flashed across his chest, he felt movement in his body once more but it was stiff. He tried adjusting himself in mid air to no avail, _This doesn't look good_. He felt another slash from the sword connect on his back spraying his blood across the horizon. It was barely a second before Huojin's eyes were in front of his, he grasped Naruto's jacket spinning him multiple times before sending him flying towards were the other two were currently residing,

"This fight's over but you went too far Huojin."

Naruto's vision was fuzzy but he could make out the voice, it was the girl Liu,

"I went too far! You always say that."

"I have to fix him up so that means you went too far."

Naruto tried to speak but it came out as more of a jumbled groan, the force of the recent blows had winded him and knocked away the majority of his consciousness,

"See he's barely with us."

She walked forward and knelt down placing a hand over the cut that Huojin had just created, a light blue glow emenated from her hand, she swept it over the length of the scar healing it as she did. She turned him over and repeated the action on the cut on his back,

"There!"

She stood up and noticed that Naruto had fell unconscious, she gave Huojin a dirty look before turning her back on him drawing her hands together and disappearing. Huojin sighed rolling his eyes and did the same, GuangLi also sighed and disappeared along with the others.

* * *

Sakura decided to leave before Sasuke came back she did not want to delve any deeper into his past, no matter how much she wanted too. She swiftly made her way past the ancient walls painted with blood long forgotten by all but one. She leapt atop a nearby roof swiftly making her way from the estate and towards her home. It was when she reached the end of the estate that she felt rain falling from above. She decided to walk on the edge of the road that was lined with trees that could shield her from the oncoming storm.

By the time she reached the lake that was at the end of this section of Konoha thunder was rolling in the murky clouds above. She looked down at the wharf and noticed that the same Uchiha mark was printed on there. She felt a sudden urge to go down to I, perhaps she thought Sasuke would be there, perhaps she thought she could find more answers either way she was already negotiating the slippery slope.

It wasn't until she was halfway down that she noticed there was a person lying not far from the lakes edge, she could not make out exactly who but her initial suspicion was that it was Sasuke. She slid down the remaining slope and half ran towards them, it wasn't until she got closer that she recognised the bright orange jacket and realised it was Naruto. As she was already halfway there she decided to see what he was doing, she was unsurprised to see him unconscious but passed him off as sleeping,

"Oi! Naruto!"

There was no reply from Naruto, he didn't so much as twitch,

"Naruto what are you doing out here! Can't you see it's raining and you're playing this close to the lake."

She knelt down and slapped his face lightly but still didn't get a response, his face fell to his side and she noticed a cut and a few marks on it. She turned his face over again and saw that the other side was almost identical, _This idiot overdid it again…_ her brow lowered and she took in his indifferent expression, it was then that his eyes finally twitched closed before hazily opening.

It took him a moment to realise where he was and another to realise who was kneeling over him, Sakura stood back up without saying a word. Naruto's mind was working at half it's normal speed,

"Sakura … chan … "

He found that no wisecracks or smart comments came to his mouth in fact his mind was completely blank, the look that was on Sakura's face was identical to the one that the Sakura in his timeline had given him just before he left. He was unable to say anything even when she turned and left saying something that Naruto didn't hear his mind was still blank only the thoughts of what he had left behind haunted him.

He did not know how long he sat by the edge of the lake, the cold rain beating on his arms, the wind between the trees whistling a melancholy tune the light waves on the lake flowing like time back and forth. But he decided then that if he would change anything in this timeline, it would be seeing that look on Sakura's face again.

* * *

Authors notes:

Finished at last that chapter took me ages to finish how I wanted it finished. College has finally ended so I'll have a lot more time to write but I'm busy all this week so hopefully next week I'll have chapter 2 up. Tell me what you think, feel free to review I always want feedback suggestions are also welcome. I didn't proof read this I'm guilty of that but I did proof read the first half like 3 times as I was writing it so it shoud be okay mostly. In case anyone's wondering this will be a primarily NaruSaku story but it'll take a while for any proper romance to happen I'll try to have moments every now and again so people don't lose interest. Also I tried not to make characters too OOC I think I might have with Sakura though . .

Editing Notes: I think I'll give up on rulers they're so bloody troublesome to add --, oh and i decided on Chinese wear rather than Japanese on Huojin and Liu because my Chinese friend thinks there isn't enough in anime.

* * *

Review Corner:

This will in future be a review corner but seeing as my first chapter was a prologue I'll leave it out. Thanx to my first 6 reviewers you're all stars ;) for being so patient and as requested by No.1 Knuckle-Headed Ninja I have put lengthy translation indexes .

* * *

_General Translations_ – Here the various Japanese terms I know and use will be listed

[1 Raikou – Enter as in come in

[2 Deruta – Katakana for Delta, a codename for someone on the mission

[3 Senbotsu – Killed in Action or KIA

[4 Daijoubu – It's alright Senbotsu – Killed in Action or KIA

[5 Oyasumi, Oyasuminasai – Good Night said in different ways

[6 Hai – Yes

[7 Ecchi – A word that should be in all anime fans Japanese vocabularies, means pervert or perverted

[8 Hitai-ate – Forehead protector I believe Oo correct me if I'm wrong couldn't find a translation for it

[9 Baka – If you don't know what this means you can't call yourself an anime fan ( .>), first word in an anime fans Japanese vocabulary, means stupid or idiot or a combination of both in most cases regarding Naruto

[10 Ojiisan – Old man or something like that

[11 Gaki – A Gaki is a Brat as Naruto tends to be when he's younger.

[12 Sumimasen – Excuse me / Sorry

[13 Okaasan – Mother… nuff said

[14 Sugoi – Wow or amazing

[15 Arigatou – Thank you

[16 Ohayou – Good Morning

[17 Matte - Wait

[18 Kawaii – Cute and I exaggerated it by the way

[19 Gomen – Another word that should be in an anime fans Japanese vocabulary, means sorry

[20 Ne – Applies emphasis on something

[21 Urusai – Shut up :)

_**Jutsu**_ Translations – The translation of the various jutsus I use and create

[1 Fuuton Rasengan – Wind release spiralling sphere, Naruto's w00t! Ownage! Attack in Shippuden, a Rasengan with wind infused

[2 Kage Bunshin – Shadow Clone, Naruto's signature attack that has a part in _all _of his original techniques

[3 Henge no jutsu – Transformation Technique

References – Just a little info about various clothing and other themes I use

[1 Qipao – A Chinese, form fitting, one piece, female dress, it rose to popularity (Through force) in the Qing dynasty.

[2 Shenyi – A Chinese kind of full-length, one-piece robe which links the Yi and Chang together to wrap up the body.

[3 Han ZhongLi - The third of the Eight Immortals, Han Zhong Li had great strength, and was physically the strongest of the Eight Drunken Immortals.


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